Sweet Time
by TimeFF
Summary: Sweet Time is a story that follows the boy band Dream Street (Jesse McCartney, Chris Trousdale, Matt Ballinger, Frankie Galasso, Greg Raposo) just before their break up as the go to California to guest star on a TV show which ends up changing each of their lives in a different way then continues to follow the each of the boys after the break up through their loves and heartaches.
1. Chapter 1

Beep. Beep. Beep. Kaycee's second alarm went off. She had ignored the first one half an hour ago. It was 6:15 and she needed to get out of bed now if she had any chance of being ready by the time her ride came to pick her up in 15 minutes. She had been back to work on her hit TV show _Don't Shoot Me _for almost two months now but she still wasn't use to waking up early. She shut off her alarm and dragged herself out of bed and into a quick shower where she washed her face. After brushing her teeth quickly she picked up a pair or jean shorts from her floor and then went to her closet and picked out a white t-shirt, she slipped on a pair of black flip flops and pulled her long dark brown hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. She had recently dyed her hair back to its natural color after having it blonde over the summer for a role. Before she left her room she grabbed a dark green hoodie that matched her eyes perfectly and pulled it over her head, she took a quick look in the mirror before heading downstairs. She knew she didn't look her best this morning but it would do.

"Good morning darling," Charlotte Wallace chirped at her youngest daughter, she was a morning person unlike Kaycee.

"Morning mom," Kaycee said as she slumped into a chair in the kitchen.

"Let me get you some breakfast. I made waffles!"

"Abby and her mom will be here any minute to pick me up for work." It was now 6:29, any minute was right. Abigail Matthews was Kaycee's next door neighbor and lifelong best friend, she also happened to play her best friend on _Don't Shoot Me_ and Abigail's mom, Leslie was their onset tutor.

"At least grab something to eat in the car." It was now 6:30 and right on cue the doorbell rang.

"I'll just get something at work. Bye mom. Love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you at dinner." Kaycee opened her door to find her best friend Abigail standing there wearing an outfit similar to hers with her short black hair was pulled in a ponytail.

"You look awake," Abigail said sarcastically.

"Well, good morning to you too my friend. And I am awake. Nearly," Kaycee said with her eyes half way closed as she was closing the door behind her.

In the car Charlotte put on some music to try and wake the girls up. It was the new Britney Spears song which usually did the trick.

"You know we have a musical guest on our show this week right?" Abigail asked.

"Actually I didn't know that." Kaycee said. "Or I must have known and forgotten."

"Didn't you read the script for this week?"

"No." Kaycee had meant to, she really had, but she had a busy weekend. On Saturday she had a charity event to help an animal shelter, the owner was a friend of her moms, afterwards she had a photo shoot for the movie she had filmed over the summer, and then it was time to hit the books before she got too behind on schoolwork. Sunday her dad's colleague was having a get together on his yacht so they had spent the entire day there. She knew she should have been more prepared. "That's what the table read is for." Abigail shot her a stern look. "Well tell me about this musical guest."

"It's a boy band called Dream Street. I Google searched them and they are a group of five guys about our age. They sang a song for the Pokemon movie and have a CD out." Abigail was always prepared. She looked over to the other side of the car and noticed Kaycee's eyes closing. "Kaycee!"

"What? Sorry, I'm awake. I'm listening. Musical guests. Dream boys. Pokemon."

"Right Kaycee… Anyway, I think it will be fun to have some boys around."

"Is that so?" Leslie Green asked.

"Yes mom. We don't get very socialized being home schooled." Abigail wasn't afraid to be honest to her parents. It was kind of hard not to when she spent so much time with her mom.

"Well then I'll try not to cramp your style girls," Mrs. Green said.

After a little while they had arrived at the studio. After putting their belongings in their dressing rooms the girls headed over to the craft service table to get some goodies. Both girls grabbed some green tea and Abigail also took a blueberry muffin, then they headed over to their stage where tables were set up for their table read. Kaycee sat in her usual seat and quickly skimmed though this week's script, she wanted to have some idea of what to expect.

* * *

It was their last week on tour with Aaron Carter and Matt Ballinger, Frankie Galasso, Jesse McCartney, Greg Raposo and Chris Trousdale, also known as Dream Street were in California. They had two more shows to do and then it would be home to New York for a while. While they were staying in California Brian and Louis, their group managers, actually managed to get them a guest spot on the hit TV show _Don't Shoot Me_.

"What is this show about?" Frankie asked in the car ride from their hotel to the studio. He was sure someone had told him before but before today it hadn't really mattered.

"It's a spinoff of a show called _Just Shoot Me_ where Jack Gallo is a big time magazine editor who gets married to his daughter Maya's former classmate and has a daughter with her. He was a workaholic and that show was about him trying to get his family life back. The spinoff show _Don't Shoot Me_ is about Jack Gallo retiring and trying to be more involved in his young daughter Hannah's life but ends up embarrassing her and causing ciaos. It's in its fourth season right now," Claudia explained, she was officially the groups choreographer but she had many other roles, one of them was to always know what was going on.

"So what are we doing there? Performing? I mean lip singing?" Matt asked. Every time the group was asked to perform on TV they were asked to lip sing even though the tracks were recorded years ago before their voices changed.

"You are going to do a performance. I think they want you to rerecord a song or two for the show so you'll sound like you do now and not when we first recorded the CD. Chris has a small part and I think all of you have a couple lines. I'm sure they'll go over it in more detail today when we get there," Claudia told them.

"_Don't Shoot Me_? That sounds familiar, I think my sisters watch the show," Greg said. "They like it a lot."

"My sister likes it too. I've seen it a couple times," Jesses added in. "That one stuck up actress is in it."

"Which one?" Chris and Matt asked together?

"This one," Jesse pointed to the tabloid magazine cover Claudia had. It was a picture of a pretty young girl with long blonde hair and the words 'Spoiled Brat' printed right above her.

"She's hot!" Chris said.

"Just because it's in a tabloid doesn't mean it's true. I heard she does a lot of charity work in her spare time," Claudia said, she was always up to date on the latest celebrity gossip almost like she thought of it as part of her job.

"Doesn't mean it's not true," Jesse said. "She probably just did the charity for attention. Typical Hollywood actress for you, they're all the same."

"Wait a second, is she the one who dated that actor Shawn Walker? He's the coolest!" Chris said.

"I think she did," Claudia said. "Whatever kind of person she is, I want you all to be nice to her and everyone else on set. Maybe we can get more of these appearances and get some more notice. It will be a good thing for the group." The car arrived at the studio gate and as soon as the car stopped there was someone to meet them.

"Hi, I'm Hilary. I'm a PA here. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll show you to your dressing rooms really quick and if you have anything you want to set down you can do so there. Then I think they'll be enough time to grab something to eat or drink before the table read starts. It's important everyone involved in the episode is there so there won't be any confusion on what will be happening this week," Hilary a young blond woman spat out. She showed them to two rooms at the end of a hallway to two rooms which would serve as their dressing rooms for the week. They dropped off some school work and other belongings and then followed Hilary to table full of breakfast goodies and drinks. The each grabbed something and then followed her to a table in the middle of the set.

"Feel free to take a seat," Hilary gestured to five seats on one side of the table. "The table read should be starting shortly. The scripts are your so feel free to write any notes you might find helpful." The boys each sat down in a chair. Frankie and Greg took a look at the scripts in front of them while Matt and Chris devoured their food. Jesse looked across the table and saw Kaycee Wallace sitting directly across from him. At least he thought it could look like her if she had on more makeup, even though he thought she looked pretty nice without it. Kaycee looked up from her script and into Jesse's eyes.

"Hi," Kaycee said with a smile.

"Hi," Jesse said back. He would play nice. He didn't want to get a bad reputation.

* * *

"Good morning everyone," Brandon Anderson, the _Don't Shoot Me_ director said loudly. "Everyone here? Looks like everyone is here." Brandon looked around to make sure his statement was correct, it looked like all the seats were taken around the table and all of the important people were there at least. "Let's get started. I'm Brandon and I'm directing this week's episode." Brandon made everyone introduce themselves so the boys would feel comfortable and know who everyone was.

Then the table read began, this week's episode was about Hannah's, played by Kaycee, 15th birthday. Hannah just wants a small dinner at home with her family while dad Jack wants to throw her a big party. Jack ends up inviting Hannah's crush, played by Chris, to perform at her party. After noticing how unhappy Hannah is, Chris tries to make Hannah happy by convincing everyone to leave so Hannah can have the nice family dinner she originally wanted. To thank him for being helpful, Hannah kisses Chris.

Hannah was sure they had done a birthday episode before, only four seasons and they were already reusing old story lines. But this time she had to kiss a boy, something she wasn't looking forward to. In the past year that had become something the writers had liked to add into the script, Hannah kissing boys which meant Kaycee had to kiss boys. She was only 15 and didn't feel comfortable kissing boys in real life not to mention on camera.

The read through had lasted about an hour. It was time for the kids to go do some schoolwork while the lighting and camera angles were figured out.

"Boys I understand you brought some schoolwork with you. If you want you can come into the school room and Mrs. Green, our onset tutor, can help you with any questions you have," Hilary said to the boys. They grabbed their books from their dressing rooms and followed her to the school room where Kaycee and Abigail were already doing work.

"Hi. I'm Leslie. Take a seat and if you have any questions I am here to help," Mrs. Green said. The boys each took a seat and started to pull out their schoolwork. Everyone worked quietly on their work until noon.

* * *

"Okay. I think it's time for lunch," Mrs. Green told them after a timer went off notifying her that everyone had finished their mandatory schoolwork for the day. "I'll see you on set later. Have a good lunch," Mrs. Green then proceeded to leave the room for her own lunch break.

"So do you know where we can get some good food around here?" Matt asked breaking the ice.

"They didn't show you the commissary? That's where pretty much everyone goes to eat. They always have a good variety of food," Abigail said.

"No. Things were kind of rushed this morning. We went straight to the table read," Frankie explained.

"Okay. Well we can show you where it is," Abigail offered. Hilary popped her head into the room.

"I hear you are finished with your schoolwork and are ready for lunch. Would you like me to show you where the commissary is?" Hilary asked the boys.

"Abigail just offered to show us," Greg said. "But thank you." He remembered to be polite.

They all made small talk while walking over to the commissary to get lunch.

"Sorry if we seemed rude not talking to you when you came into the school room but my mom would have counted the time and made us make up the time. She's very picky in making sure we get the required amount of school time to the second," Abigail said.

"Mrs. Green is your mom? That's not weird?" Frankie asked.

"Yes and no, it's not too weird anymore. It took some getting used to. But some producers can be really stressful on minors since we have to do school work. They really pressure you to hurry up but you can't really rush the timer. It's kind of nice to have my mom there to make sure there isn't anyone trying to make us feel rushed and making things more stressful," Abigail explained.

"Makes sense," Matt said.

"Plus she's pretty fun and explains things really well. I'm learning more than I ever learned when I was in a real school," Kaycee added even though truthfully she kind of missed being around normal kids sometimes.

"So you're both tutored all the time?" Greg asked.

"Yes. Ever since I was 10," Abigail said.

"11 for me," Kaycee added.

"Do you miss school?" Matt asked.

"Sometimes but not really, it's easier to go at my own pace rather than trying either to rush or slow down to stay at the same pace of a class," Kaycee tried to explain. "Before I started on this show I had to do that when I did small projects and it was kind of tough. And it's not like we don't get to hang out with normal kids either. We still have a lot of the same friends from when we went to school that we hang out with now."

* * *

The commissary had endless choices of food. After getting some food they all sat at a table together and tried getting to know each other a little better. The boys learned that Kaycee and Abigail had known each other long before they started working together on the show. Their dads worked at a law firm together and their moms had been best friends since high school. They had grown up next door to each other and spent vacations together. The girls learned about the boys lives in New York and how they came to be a group. Without the awkwardness of a quite school room they were able to relax and get to know each other.

"So I guess you have to kiss me," Chris said to Kaycee making things a little bit more awkward but Kaycee laughed.

"I'm sorry. The writers have this new thing where they like to make me kiss anything that moves. I really don't see how that makes for good TV but I guess that's why I'm not a writer," Kaycee said making Chris laugh in return.

"You don't need to apologize. I worked on a movie over the summer and had to do an awkward kiss in front of thousands of fans. I'm sure this thing with you won't be worse than that," Chris said.

"That does sound pretty awkward," Abigail said.

"Yeah, I've had some pretty awkward ones but in front of your fans? I bet they got pretty jealous," Kaycee added.

"Kind of, I think most of the people there were either just shocked or happy to see us. But once it got all over the internet there were a lot of upset people," Chris said.

"I'll try not to upset them," Kaycee said.

"I think I'd probably make your fans angrier then you'd make mine," Chris said.

"Maybe, I have a lot of perverted older fans. I don't mind if they get angry. I think it'd make my dad happy," Kaycee joked.

"Have either of you ever been to New York?" Frankie asked changing the subject.

"I haven't, but Kaycee has," Abigail said.

"Just for work stuff, I didn't get to do anything fun. I would have loved to see a play on Broadway or go ice skating in central park," Kaycee said. "Maybe one day. How do you like living there?"

"It's pretty cool. There's a lot to do I guess. I guess it's kind of like California in a way. There's a lot to do but it's not such a huge deal when you live there," Chris said.

"I still like doing tourist things even though I've lived here all my life," Kaycee said. "But I think I understand what you mean."

"What is there fun to do around here?" Matt asked.

"Hollywood Boulevard is fun to walk around. There's Grumman's Chinese Theatre where the footprints are. There's a rundown compound where Hitler followers wanted him to come live," Abigail offered.

"There are a lot of good restaurants too, not just the fancy ones, those are overrated. But like in Burbank you can eat at the same booth where the Beatles once ate. Or In N Our burger, you can only get that in California and they have the best hamburgers and frys ever," Kaycee added.

"I like Griffith Park, there's the Merry Go Round where Walt Disney thought up Disneyland, and an abandoned Zoo, the Hollywood sign with some nice hiking if you have the time. And then of course there's the observatory which is my favorite," Abigail continued.

"There's a lot to do here, it just depends on what you like to," Kaycee said. "Do you have a busy schedule while you are here?"

"We have a concert on Wednesday and another one on Saturday, other than that we are just doing your show. I think Louis is trying to set up some interviews while we are in town. We leave back for New York on Sunday," Frankie explained.

"The least you could do is offer to show us around while we're here," Greg joked.

"Sure, we'd be glad to," Abigail said. "I mean if you really want."

"That would be cool," Frankie said.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Greg agreed. "How's tonight?"

"I'm supposed to be home for dinner with my family but I can call my mom and see if she can make an exception," Kaycee said.

"Maybe Hallie can drive," Abigail said referring to Kaycee's older sister who just turned 17.

"Okay, I'll call and ask right now," Kaycee said as she got up to leave the table. After a little while she came back with the news she was allowed to go.

After lunch, they began working out the blocking for the episode. Around 3:30 the kids were done for the day.

* * *

"How did you enjoy your day?" Claudia asked the boys in the car ride back to the hotel, the girls would pick them up shortly after picking up Hallie and of course dropping off Mrs. Green.

"Pretty good," Matt said.

"Kind of boring," Greg said honestly. "All we did was read the script and do homework."

"Tomorrow should be more interesting. In the morning we are going to a recording studio to redo two of your songs that will be used in the episode. Then I think you'll be going back to the set to do some rehearsals. They are also sending a camera crew over to do an interview about your guest appearance from some entertainment show," Claudia informed them.

"Sounds like a long day," Frankie said.

"At least it sounds more interesting than today," Greg said. He didn't mean to sound ungrateful; sometimes this business just wasn't that exciting. "Oh by the way we are going to go hang out with Abigail and Kaycee today. They are going to show us around the city a little bit."

"So you all ended up getting along?" Claudia asked looking at Jesse in particular. "Kaycee was nice to you? And more importantly you were nice to her?"

"I guess so. I still think the stories about her are true. But I'd rather go out and do something then sit in a hotel room," Jesse told her.

"I don't think I'm going to go," Matt said. "Samantha would be mad if she found out I was hanging out with other girls, pretty girls. Not that I think they are pretty but she would."

"You're crazy Matt. They are pretty," Frankie said.

"You just want to make out with Abigail," Greg said.

"No I don't," Frankie lied.

"It's alright. I'm all for making out with cute girls," Greg said.

"She is cute," Frankie admitted. "But what's the point if we are leaving on Sunday."

* * *

It was about 4:30 and the girls were almost at the hotel where the group was staying.

"So tell me about these guys," Hallie said, she was driving her parents van that they had bought just for family trips so it didn't get much use; it was an older model but it still looked brand new.

"They are in a singing group and are all 17. Except Jesse who is 15. And they are all pretty cute and nice," Abigail said.

"Who do you think is the cutest?" Hallie asked.

"I really like Frankie's smile," Abigail blushed.

"How about you sis?" Hallie asked.

"I don't want to even think about boys for a while," Kaycee said. After she and Shawn had broken up she didn't want to date anyone in the entertainment industry again.

"You don't have to go after one of them, it's just a fun question," Hallie said.

"Okay, if I had to choose one I'd say that Jesses face doesn't make me want to barf," Kaycee finally gave in.

"Thank you for being so honest," Hallie joked. "Now I know who to stay clear of. I'll just talk to the other guys."

After pulling into the hotel parking lot they called the boys to let them know they had arrived and would meet them in the lobby. After a few minutes Frankie, Greg, and Jesse came down. Kaycee introduced everyone to Hallie who looked a lot like Kaycee, with the same green eyes but with lighter brown hair that was long and wavy and while Kaycee was tiny barely reaching 5 feet; Hallie was taller at nearly 5'4.

"Where are Chris and Matt?" Kaycee asked.

"Matt doesn't want to come. He thinks his girlfriend will get mad if he's hanging out with other girls when it doesn't have to do with work. And Chris wanted to hang out with Claudia. I think she wanted to try to sneak him into some club at the hotel," Frankie said.

"Well, their loss," Abigail said. "Let's go." They all piled into the Wallace's van.

"Where are we headed to first?" Hallie asked.

"I'm pretty hungry," Greg said. "Where is that place where the Beatles ate? It would be pretty cool to go there." Everyone else agreed that sounded like a good idea so they headed over to Burbank. Luckily the booth where the Beatles had once sat in to eat was open so they were able to take that table.

"There's even a plaque that says they ate here!" Jesse said sounding a little more excited then he meant to.

"How do you know about all these places?" Frankie asked.

"Kaycee's obsessed," Hallie said.

"I'm not obsessed!" Kaycee said. "I just think it's fun to explore around here. There are so many cool things to see and do that I might as well take advantage of them even if I look like a tourist doing so. And since we are sitting in this booth I think we need to take a picture together with the plaque in it."

"If there's no picture then it didn't happen," Abigail joked.

"Right," Kaycee said. "I know that was a joke but the picture is part of the fun." After they ordered their food they had their waitress take their picture and thanked her. It didn't take long for the food to arrive and they started to discuss what they wanted to do tonight.

"The observatory sounded fun," Frankie said remember that Abigail had mentioned it being her favorite place earlier in the day. Nobody else cared to disagree; they all just wanted to have a good time. While they were eating a couple of fans came to their table.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you but you are Kaycee Wallace, right?" One of the girls asked.

"And you are Abigail Green," The other girl chimed in.

"From _Don't Shoot Me_," Girl one said.

"It's our favorite show!" Both girls said together. They seemed to be around 14 or 15 years old.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you," Kaycee said with a friendly smile. "This is my sister Hallie and some of my new friends Frankie, Greg, and Jesse who are going to be guest starting on an episode this season."

"Cool!" Both girls said together.

"Can we take a picture with you?" Girl one asked.

"Sure," Kaycee said. Kaycee and Abigail each took a picture with the girls. Then the fans also wanted a picture with Frankie, Greg, and Jesse. Afterwards they asked a few questions and then thanked the girls for the pictures and for being so nice. Jesse was surprised at how nice Kaycee had been answering all the annoying little questions when she probably just wanted to eat her food. He had dealt with fans coming up to him too, sometimes not being when he wanted to be bothered, he had always tried to be nice but knew sometimes his true feelings showed though. Maybe she was just better at hiding hers.

* * *

"Wow, this place has amazing views!" Frankie said once they had arrived at the Griffith Park Observatory. "I can definitely see why you like it here." They walked around both outside and inside spending a good amount of time exploring.

"I think I should get my sisters some souvenirs. They'll be mad if I don't," Greg said after they had been there a little while. "Is there a gift shop?"

"Yeah, it's downstairs," Hallie said. They all headed to the gift shop to help Greg find something for his sisters.

"It's a little crowded in here," Abigail said. "Do you mind if I meet you outside?"

"No, that's fine." Greg said. "I won't take too long, hopefully."

"I'll go with you," Kaycee offered. Jesse and Frankie decided to join them, they much rather look at the cool view of the city then try to move around in a crowded gift shop. Hallie offered to stay and keep Greg company; she asked him questions about his sisters and offered suggestions of what he should get them.

Outside Abigail, Kaycee, Frankie and Jesse stood looking at the view with Abigail and Kaycee pointing out landmarks while dishing out little tidbits they knew.

"They filmed _Rebel without a Cause_ with James Dean here," Abigail said explaining why there was a sculpture of the actors head there.

"My dad use to take me here when I was really young. I didn't know who James Dean was or what _Rebel without a Cause_ was or even really understood that this place was an observatory. I just loved that I was standing in a place where an actual movie was filmed," Kaycee said. "I know that sounds lame."

"No, it makes sense," Jesse said trying to be nice, still remembering what Claudia had told him.

"Please tell me you've seen it by now. That movie's a classic," Frankie said.

"Yes, I've…" Kaycee cut off when she spotted her ex-boyfriend Shawn Walker staring right at her. He was headed their way and there was nowhere to hide.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Kay," Shawn Walker said when he reached them. Kaycee hated being called Kay. "Abby." Shawn nodded towards Abigail.

"Hi," Abigail and Kaycee said not in unison but both not meeting his eye. Shawn was the last person on earth either girl had wanted to see. Kaycee and Shawn dated for a couple months and even worked on a film together over the summer; they broke up a couple weeks ago after the relationship became too intense for Kaycee. Shawn was trying to pressure her into doing things she wasn't ready for. Ever since the breakup Shawn had been spreading rumors about Kaycee to the press; he had said he had broken up with her after she cheated on him, started getting a big head, and whatever else he could think of that week.

"Already moved on?" Shawn said referring to Jesse and Frankie.

"We just met today," Frankie said.

"I always knew you moved fast but dang," Shawn said.

"It's not a date. We met Frankie and Jesse at work today," Kaycee explained not that she thought she owed him an explanation, she just hoped he would stop talking and leave them alone.

"I like your work man," Jesse said. "Those are the kind of films I want to do one day." Shawn worked on a lot of drama and action films.

"Oh yeah, cool, don't bother seeing the last one I did over the summer. I had to work with a terrible actress." Shawn dismissed. "Kay, can we talk for a sec?"

"Actually we were just going to go into the show," Kaycee said.

"Just for a second," Shawn said sternly grabbing her by the wrist.

"I don't know if you heard her but Kaycee just said that we were going," Frankie said walking in-between Shawn and Kaycee forcing Shawn to let go of her wrist.

"I heard. I'm not deaf," Shawn said with a laugh and then tried again. "I just wanted to talk. No big deal."

"Hey Shawn, did I hear that you're leaving? I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to catch up," Hallie said, she and Greg had finished buying the gifts for his sisters; she had practically run over once she saw Shawn talking to her sister.

"Yeah, Kay and I were just leaving. We were gonna go chat for a bit," Shawn said.

"Please just leave us alone," Kaycee said. "I haven't done anything to you. You're just going to make a scene and you'll end up looking like the bad one." Shawn knew she was right. There were a lot of people around and he was starting to get angry.

"I gotta get back to my girl, Katie, anyway. You know her right? Didn't you go to school together? She wants to be an actress too and I think she'll actually make it because she's not fat or anything" Shawn said. "Anyway, I'm glad we can still be friends Kay. And as your friend I think I should tell you to shape up. I mean it looks good for me, that you are falling apart because you miss me so much but really you're just going to embarrass yourself." Shawn walked away and both Greg and Frankie started to go after him. It wasn't okay for Shawn to talk to her in that way, even Jesse was getting a little upset by it. Both Abigail and Hallie were in shock at what had just happened. Before Frankie got very far Kaycee had stopped him.

"It's not worth it," Kaycee said. But she was too late to grab Greg.

"Hey buddy, you can't talk to her like that," Greg shouted after him.

"Excuse me?" Shawn turned around startled. Nobody ever stood up to him.

"You can't talk to her like that. I may have not known her very long, but Kaycee is one of the kindest people I've met and nobody deserves to be spoken to in that way, especially her," Greg rattled off. Shawn was still startled. He wasn't used to this. He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of his new girlfriend. Luckily it didn't look like she had heard anything this guy had said to him.

"Look man, I left her alone, I left you alone, now let me go enjoy my night," Shawn said and then continued to walk away.

"You shouldn't have done that," Kaycee said to Greg.

"Has he talked like that to you before?" Hallie asked.

"I appreciate it and everything but really you did not need to do that. Sometimes it's better to just ignore it," Kaycee continued ignoring her sister. But Hallie wouldn't let it go.

"Has he talked like that to you before? Has he grabbed you like that before?" Hallie asked again.

"It's really not a big deal. Can we talk about it later?" Kaycee said.

"Fine, but I'm not letting it go," Hallie said.

"Sorry," Kaycee said apologizing to everyone. "That kind of ruined the night. But that show is about to start. We can still probably get good seats."

"You have no reason to apologize," Frankie told her.

"Yeah," Greg agreed. "That jerk on that other hand…"

"The show sounds fun," Frankie said trying to make Kaycee feel better. He didn't want her to be upset or feel bad anymore, so they all went inside the building to watch a show about the solar system. Afterwards, Kaycee apologized again for the incident with Shawn. She felt awkward about the entire situation, she hated feeling like she ruined their night and hated not being able to stand up for herself, even though everyone tried to reassure her that it wasn't her fault she couldn't help feeling like it was. By that time it was getting near the time where the girls had to be home so Hallie dropped Frankie, Greg, and Jesse back at their hotel.

* * *

"How was your night?" Claudia asked when the boys had gotten back to the hotel.

"Crazy, Greg almost got into a fight!" Frankie said.

"What?!" Claudia shouted a little too loud. "You better have not!"

"No way, cool!" Matt said.

"That Shawn Walker guy showed up, Kaycee's ex-boyfriend, I guess. He was being a real jerk to her. I was just trying to stand up for her," Greg tried to explain. "Nothing happened though."

"I'm glad you said something," Frankie said. "That guy was a total jerk! She just stood there and took it. She didn't even seem angry. I wanted to punch that guy."

"Stop with all that violence talk. I'm glad there wasn't a fight. I don't think I have to remind you again to be on your best behavior but I am glad you stood up for her. That was very nice Greg," Claudia said. "Did you have a good time other than that?"

"Yeah, it was nice getting to know Abigail and Kaycee and her sister Hallie. They took us to some pretty cool places," Frankie said.

"I had fun! I wish we had more time in California," Greg said.

"What about you Jess? Have a good time?" Claudia asked after a pause when Jesse hadn't said anything.

"Yeah, it was fine," Jesse said. "I'm gonna go to bed now. Good night."

"Just because Alexa was a jerk and just wanted you for the fame doesn't mean all girls in the business are like that," Chris said trying to take a guess into what was going through Jesse's mind. Alexa had been a pretty blonde girl Jesse had fell for and dated for a little while. Deep down she just wanted to get close to him for his fame, she thought maybe he could help her get into the entertainment business. "Kaycee and Abigail both seem really nice and down to earth."

"Mmhmm," Jesse murmured as he headed towards his room. He was still trying to figure out what had happened that night. Even if Kaycee was a Hollywood girl she didn't deserve to be spoken to that way. Frankie and Greg both said something to that jerk Shawn and he hadn't done or said anything, what kind of man was he.

"What did you guys do?" Frankie asked.

"I got into a club!" Chris said happily.

"How'd you manage that?" Greg asked in awe.

"It was so easy. Claudia and I just walked right in; they didn't card me or anything. It was the one here at the hotel. She didn't let me drink or anything but we had a good time hanging out and dancing," Chris explained.

"Nice," Frankie said.

"I talked to Samantha for like 5 hours," Matt said not so happily. "I think she thought that once I hung up I was going to go run to where you guys were and hit on one of the girls."

"Man, she is so controlling. You need to break up with her," Greg said.

"She's not all bad," Matt said trying to defend his girlfriend but even he wasn't so sure he believed that.

* * *

"Hurry up in there," Hallie said knocking on the door to the bathroom she shared with Kaycee. Kaycee seemed to be taking an unusually long time in there; Hallie just figured she was stalling.

"All yours," Kaycee said when she walked out a minute later.

"Kayc, are you going to answer my question now," Hallie asked following Kaycee into her bedroom.

"Which one?" Kaycee knew which one; she just really didn't want to talk about it.

"Has Shawn ever talked to you like that or grabbed you like that before?" Kaycee didn't say anything. "He has, hasn't he?" Hallie already knew the answer.

"Don't tell dad!"

"I have to!"

"No, you don't. If you tell dad he's just going to make me file a restraining order on Shawn, then the press will find out and I really don't want to have to deal with all of that." Hallie didn't look convinced. "Look, in the past he wasn't very nice to me but our relationship is over, I don't plan on ever seeing him alone so I won't have to deal with him acting that way towards me anymore."

"Fine," Hallie finally said giving in. After a moment she added, "I just wish you had told me about it before, when it was going on. Maybe I could have…"

"You couldn't have done anything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't realize how wrong he was treating me until we broke up."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone. I really love you."

"I know. I love you too. But you can't always stand up for me. I need to take care of things me own way sometimes."

"I'll try to remember that."

"Thank you."

"So...That Jesse doesn't make you want to barf?"

"Shut up!" Kaycee laughed. "I don't think he likes me very much anyway."

* * *

It was Tuesday morning and the boys were in the recording studio rerecording _It Happens Every Time _and _I Say Yeah_ so they would sound more their age on the episode of _Don't Shoot Me_.

"We really need to get new songs," Greg thought out loud.

"We're working on writing some new stuff right now actually. After we sell some more albums we'll have some money to get recording time to work on a new album," Brian said.

"Oh cool." Greg didn't believe it; neither did Frankie, Jesse, or Matt. They had been hearing the same thing for a while now. Chris on the other hand always tried to keep a positive attitude and have faith in his managers.

The boys recorded for most of the morning; while one boy was recording the others were working on their schoolwork and were able to finish their mandatory time by the time they were done at the studio. By the time they got back to the studio it was 12:30 so they grabbed some lunch before heading to the _Don't Shoot Me_ stage.

* * *

Abigail and Kaycee spend Tuesday morning doing school work, after lunch they started to get ready for the entertainment news crew that would be coming to interview them.

"I just want the minimum make up," Kaycee told, Nina who was in charge of make-up on _Don't Shoot Me_.

"Are you sure you don't want to change?" Holly, who ran the show's public relations, asked Kaycee.

"No, I'm comfortable, "Kaycee said without needing to think. She knew she didn't look like a glamorous actress but like a normal 15 year old girl in her jeans, sweatshirt, and hair pulled into a bun at the top of her head. "Do you think I should?"

"No, you don't need to if you feel comfortable. People like to see what it's really like behind the scenes. They like to see people looking normal too," Holly said more to convince herself than Kaycee. "Kaycee, when you're done with make up just head to the set, I think the crew is already set up. Abby, you look ready, you can follow me."

"Sounds good," Kaycee said. She hated wearing make-up but knew she would look shiny and weird without it on camera. She'd get to scrub it off right after the interview took place anyway. A couple more minutes and Nina was finished. "Thank you, Nina, it looks great. Just the way I like it."

"No problem Kaycee. I'll see you later. And don't be nervous. You don't have to talk to those people about anything you don't want to," Nina told her. Kaycee knew she was talking about all the gossip with Shawn, the thought hadn't even occurred to her that she would probably be asked about it, but of course she would, it would make for good TV.

"Thanks Nina. See you later." Kaycee headed to the stage which held the shows set.

* * *

When she got to the set the boys from Dream Street were watching Abigail finish up her interview. Ava, the interviewer, had asked Abigail simple questions about working with Dream Street, what was going to be new this season, and about some of her hobbies outside of acting. After she was finished with Abigail, Ava took a break to reapply her make-up and get something to drink.

"Holly, can I talk to you for a second?" Kaycee asked quietly.

"Sure thing doll, what can I do for you?" Holly asked.

"I don't want to talk about Shawn. Can you tell them it's off limits, please," Kaycee asked, she hated asking for things but she felt like this was a reasonably request. Jesse overheard the conversation and wondered if anyone had heard about what happened last night.

"Of course, I'll go let them know right now," Holly said.

"Thank you," Kaycee told her genuinely. Holly left to go talk to Ava and some of the producers of the entertainment news show who were there, after a few moments they were ready to do Kaycee's interview. It started off pretty well with them asking her how it was working with the boys from Dream Street, not such an easy question considering she had known them for a day but still a simple one she could answer politely. After a little talk about that they talked a little more about the show and the changes for the new season. Finally she answered a question about her outside hobbies which included taking dance classes and hanging out with her sister, Hallie. Kaycee figured the interview would end there but that's when she was asked about the thing she had been dreading most, Shawn.

"How are you dealing with everything that is going on right now with Shawn?" Ava asked with a smile on her face.

"Kaycee you don't have to answer that," Holly said from off to the side.

"It's okay," Kaycee said taking a deep breath. She really didn't want to talk about her relationship for people she didn't even know, it was none of their business, but she figured she couldn't ignore it forever. "Shawn and I dated for a couple months; it really wasn't as big of a deal as people want to make out. We're young and I don't think many relationships at this age last very long. I think at 15 I don't need to be in a serious relationship and that's what I've learned from this, that I don't want to be in a serious relationship for a long time, I just want to enjoy being young," Kaycee said.

"What do you have to say about everything he's been saying about you?" Ava tried again to get a response closer to what she wanted, something angry and bitter.

"Nothing, I guess. People deal with things differently and I guess this is the way he chose to deal with it," Kaycee said.

"So no anger?" Ava tried again but not so hard this time. Kaycee just shook her heard no; she really didn't have anything else to say. "Alright, thank you for your time Kaycee."

"Kaycee, I'm sorry, I did talk to her," Holly said. "Hey, Ava, what happened there?" Holly chased after Ava who went to reapply her make-up and to get something to drink again.

"I know you did Holly, thank you," Kaycee called after her.

"Are you okay?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to get this make-up off right now. I'll be back," Kaycee said leaving the set for her dressing room where she could wash her face and get a moment to herself.

"After Ava gets her head chewed off by Holly they should be ready for you," Hilary told the boys. "I think they are going to talk to you all at once and then one by one."

"Do I have time to go to the bathroom?" Jesse asked. Hilary looked at Ava and the producers who were still getting an ear full from Holly.

"I think you have some time," Hilary told him. "Go ahead."

* * *

Instead of going to the bathroom Jesse went to look for Kaycee. He wasn't sure exactly why, he didn't even like her that much, but he wanted to check up on her. After walking through the hallway where his dressing room was he eventually saw one that said the name "Kaycee" on it. Jesse knocked on the door and waited a little while but there was no answer, he knocked again and again there was no answer. He thought he heard noise coming from inside though so he tried turning the door knob and it was open. He stuck his head inside but she wasn't in the room, he did hear water running in the bathroom though, and then it stopped and the door opened.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," Jesse said once Kaycee came out. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. That was a pretty crummy thing what that lady did."

"Yeah, it happens," Kaycee said sitting down on a couch in her room. "I'm fine though." Jesse came into the room closing the door behind him and sat down next to her; he noticed her eyes were red, from crying maybe.

"How could you still be so nice to him after what he did last night?"

"I know everyone wants me to be mean back but I just can't do it. Sure there are a lot of things I could say about him that would make him look bad, true things, but it wouldn't make me feel better. I rather it just go away, hopefully it'll go away faster now."

"You know before I met you I thought you were going to be stuck up."

"Thanks..."

"Let me finish, but you aren't at all. You aren't anything like I thought you would be. You really are a nice person and you don't care about that Hollywood image like most people in the business do…" Before he could continue he was interrupted by someone yelling his name in the hallway. "I guess I better go." Jesse got up to leave.

"Thank you. You made me feel a little better."

"Just a little?" Jesse smiled.

"You made me feel better. You didn't have to go out of your way to do that."

"It's not a big deal. I'll see you later." Jesse was glad he could make her feel better, even it was just a little bit. He didn't want to go have to be nice to that interview lady, Ava, now, not after what she had done to Kaycee. But he guessed this was one of playing nice things Claudia was talking about.

"There you are!" Claudia said to Jesse in the hallway. "They're ready for you! Where were you anyway? I checked the bathrooms."

"I was talking to Kaycee," Jesse admitted.

"Ooh? You two are getting along then? How is she doing?"

"I guess. I think she's doing okay."

"Are you ready to be interviewed?"

"No." Jesse usually enjoyed being interviewed, they could be fun sometimes. "How am I supposed to talk to that lady after that happened?"

"It's part of the business. Kaycee understands that which is why she is doing okay. It's not one of the good parts of the business but as they say the show must go on."

"Claudia, you're terrible at this."

"I know. I'm sorry." Once on set Chris was finishing up his single interview, Jesse was the only one to go and then they would go a group one with the boys. After a minute it was time for Jesse, but not before Ava retouched up her make-up yet again. Once it was his turn Ava asked Jesse pretty simple questions about how he was enjoying being on the show and what his thoughts on California were, even though he had been here before many times with Dream Street this time was a little different, he had never really spent a lot of time in Hollywood, and although he was on _All My Children_ being at that set was much different than this one. When Jesse was finished answering his questions all the boys got together, after Ava retouched her make-up yet again, and did one final interview. By this time Kaycee had come back out to watch. Ava asked the boys about their group, how they started, about some of their bigger projects, and what was in the future for the group. After the interviews everyone started blocking scenes for the episode. The camera crew stayed a little longer to get some more behind the scenes footage before leaving. Around 4:30, they were finished for the day and headed home.

"What are you doing tonight?" Frankie asked Abigail and Kaycee, but mainly Abigail, he was hoping he'd be able to see her again outside of work.

"No big plans. Probably going to just hang out with my family," Abigail said.

"Did you want to show us around town some more?" Frankie asked hopefully.

"I can't. My parents don't like me to go out two nights in a row. I know it's kind of lame and embarrassing," Abigail said. "I guess since there is always something going on, it's their way of keeping me grounded and away from the party scene."

"My parents are the same way. They like to give us a lot of the same rules," Kaycee said.

"Oh, maybe another time this week then?" Greg asked knowing Frankie was thinking it.

"Yeah, sure," Abigail said.

"I don't think we're going to be on set tomorrow. We have a show tomorrow night and rehearsals before," Frankie said.

"You two should come to the show," Chris suggested.

"What time is the show?" Kaycee asked.

"6 or 7, I can't remember," Chris said.

"I think we go on at 6:30. The first opening act starts at 6, Aaron goes on at 7," Matt said.

"I have dance class at 6," Kaycee said. "But you said you have another one this week right? Maybe we can go to that one."

"Do you go to dance class too?" Frankie asked Abigail.

"Yes, surprising huh? I think Kaycee and I may spend all of our time together," Abigail said.

"Saturday is the other show," Jesse said answering Kaycee's previous questions. "Don't make other plans!"

"I think I can make that work," Kaycee said. "See you on Thursday?"

"Thursday. Yeah," Greg said and then they all said their good-byes for the day.

* * *

"What are we doing Saturday?" Abigail asked her mom on the ride home from the studio.

"I don't think we have anything planned," Leslie said. "Why? Was there something you wanted to do?"

"We were invited to a Dream Street concert, the we being Kaycee and I. They said they can get tickets for us and it's at 6. Do you think I could go?" Abigail asked.

"I don't see why not," Leslie said.

"I'm sure Hallie could drive us," Kaycee suggested so neither of their parents had to drive and attend a concert.

"That would be cool!" Abigail said. "Hey, so Mr. guy who doesn't make you want to barf was pretty talkative to you today."

"I guess so," Kaycee said. While they were rehearsing it did seem like Jesse was going out of his way to talk to her and make little comments during breaks. "I never said I liked him though."

"Liked who?" Leslie asked butting in.

"Jesse!" Abigail said.

"I don't like him," Kaycee insisted. "I don't even know him."

"That sure is a lot of protesting," Abigail teased.

"Well, they all seem like nice young men," Leslie said. After a little while they had dropped Kaycee off and were back at home.

* * *

"How was work today?" Charlotte had asked her daughter, Kaycee, while they were making dinner together. Hallie was working on homework at the table listening in.

"It was fine. We did some interviews for some entertainment show," Kaycee said. "The lady, Ava, who was doing them, was kind of rude. She asked questions about Shawn when I had Holly ask her not to."

"What did you say?" Hallie asked.

"Nothing, well, not nothing, but nothing that they wanted to hear. I just told him that he was just dealing with things the way he needed to and I'm way too young to be serious about anyone anyway," Kaycee explained.

"Good answer! True answer!" Charlotte said supporting her daughter.

"You didn't have to say anything," Hallie said.

"I know but then what," Kaycee said and then added in a reporter type voice "Kaycee was too heartbroken and refused to talk about Shawn." Hallie laughed. "And I'm not heartbroken. Just a little upset over having such mean things written about me and all of the information coming from Shawn but that's fine because everyone who matters knows I'm not like that."

"Plus everyone else will see his true side eventually," Charlotte said. "Although you know dad still thinks you should sue him and the magazines for slander."

"He knows I can't realistically do that. It'll go away soon enough," Kaycee insisted. She didn't want to talk about Shawn anymore, not today and not ever again so she changed the subject "Mom what is going on this weekend?"

"When this weekend?" Charlotte asked.

"Saturday," Kaycee said.

"Saturday morning you promised to help at the animal shelter that Chelsea runs," Charlotte said. "You don't have anything work related to do that I know of so I think that's all that's planned." Kaycee helped out at the animal shelter almost weekly, it helped gain attention for the shelter, people had started coming to adopt animals and volunteer once it got out Kaycee helped out over there. She actually enjoyed going and taking care of the animals and she liked knowing that she could do something good to help.

"But nothing in the evening?" Kaycee asked.

"No, did you want to do something?" Charlotte asked.

"Actually yes, the boy band who is on the show this week is going to be performing at a concert. I think it's around 6, they have tickets for Abigail, Hallie, and I. Can we go?" Kaycee asked.

"Thanks for assuming I didn't have any plans," Hallie joked.

"Do you have any plans?" Kaycee asked.

"No, but thank you for asking," Hallie said.

"Would you like to go? Can we go mom?" Kaycee asked.

"Yes, I'd like to go," Hallie said.

"I don't see why not. It sounds like fun," Charlotte said.

* * *

Wednesday morning Abigail and Kaycee spent a couple hours on set rehearsing before doing some school work. After lunch they rehearsed some more. When they were done for the day they each went home to have dinner with their families and then Hallie drove them all to dance class. Hallie just went to the classes to spend more time with her sister. Abigail went to have a good time and get out of the house but she really was uncoordinated and was usually out of step. Kaycee on the other hand took the classes seriously, she wanted to be on Broadway one day and knew that you had to have many talents to pull it off, one being dance.

The boys had a different schedule for the day, they were able to sleep in a little bit before going to rehearsal, and afterwards they did their school work and then headed to the venue for sound check. At 6:30 they went on stage and performed for about half an hour. It was good to see a lot of their fans had showed up. After they finished performing they headed back to their hotel to get some rest for the next day, it was going to be another busy one.

* * *

Thursday they needed to shoot all of the party scenes which included a lot of extras that would take too long to show in front of a live audience. First thing when Abigail, Kaycee, and the boys from Dream Street did when they got onto set was rehearse for an hour, and then they went to the school room to get their school work out of the way, when they were finished it was time for lunch.

"Hey guys," Hilary said popping her head into the room. "The studio has a box a box at the Staples Center and the Kings Hockey team is playing tonight. You are more than welcome to go check it out tonight."

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" Claudia said. She had been sitting in on the school sessions trying to help out if she was needed.

"Cool," Frankie said. None of the guys were big hockey fans but he thought he heard Abigail mention something about going earlier.

"Okay, I'll get the tickets for you before you go for the day," Hilary said.

"Are you going?" Frankie asked Abigail on the way to the commissary.

"Yeah, I'm not a huge hockey fan but the games are usually pretty fun," Abigail said.

"Do you know who's playing?" Matt asked.

"I think the New York Rangers are in town," Kaycee said.

"I know who I'm rooting for then," Jesse said. He wasn't a big fan of hockey either but it might be kind of fun to talk sports trash in a flirty way.

"It better be the Kings or it's going to be a long game," Kaycee teased.

"You get into sports?" Chris asked.

"I just like hockey. I grew up watching it with my dad. I don't really like watching any other sports," Kaycee explained. "What sports do you like?"

"I like soccer," Greg said.

"Baseball," Frankie said and Jesse agreed.

"I play lacrosse but I like most sports," Matt mentioned. At lunch they talked about other hobbies they have. After lunch they filmed all of the party scenes with the extras. Once they were finished filing for the day they all left for the day with plans to meet up later at the Staples Center.

* * *

When Claudia, Brian, Louie, and the boys from Dream Street got to the Staples Center Abigail and Kaycee were already there with Hallie and their parents. After the introductions were made they all got comfortable as the game was going to be starting shortly. Their box was a room full of comfortable couches and a TV screen where you could watch the game or something else. There was a table full of food and drinks and a menu to order anything else that they might want that wasn't already in the room. In addition to all of that there were also seats outside where they could watch the game that was sectioned off from the other seats in the arena. Jesse thought he would be spending the game sitting next to Kaycee talking trash about each other's team but instead Kaycee was sitting next to her dad, Jesse kept debating whether or not he should go sit down with them. Hallie was on the other side of her dad and Greg was sitting next to her trying to explain the game to her. Hallie had grown up around hockey games but she still didn't understand everything that was going on. Frankie and Abigail stood in a corner of the room talking and by the end of the night they had gotten to know each other pretty well.

"I really like talking to you," Frankie admitted honestly. He really didn't have any intention of getting to know Abigail. He knew if he got to know her he would like her and it would be hard to leave her not knowing when he'd get to see her again.

"I really like talking to you too," Abigail said blushing.

"I wish we could have more time alone together." The game would be ending in a couple of minutes. Frankie liked spending time with Abigail and now that he had spent time with her more one on one without anyone bothering them he didn't want to have to share her again.

"That would be nice." Abigail couldn't tell her serious Frankie was being.

"Maybe we can sneak away sometime tomorrow." Frankie looked hopeful and Abigail could tell he was being serious now.

"Yeah, I think we could manage to do that."

Eventually Jesse sat down next to Matt and Chris who were sitting in the row behind them.

"Take that New York!" Kaycee turned around and said to Jesse after the Kings had scored a goal.

"Lucky shot," Jesse said back smiling. The Los Angeles Kings ended up beating the New York Rangers in overtime but Jesse didn't care, Kaycee looked so happy that her team had won and he found that he liked to see her happy.


	3. Chapter 3

You have to help me figure out a plan to get alone with Frankie tomorrow!" Abigail begged Kaycee, first thing she did when she got home was to make a call her best friend and tell her all about her conversation with Frankie.

"Hmm," Kaycee said thinking. "I think the easiest time to get away would be at dinner. People usually do their own thing. I guess you would just have to worry about Claudia and the other guys noticing Frankie being gone."

"How do I get him away? Have him fake being sick?"

"No, then people will want to check on him. When everyone is leaving to go to dinner just sneak away, it won't be that big of a deal. By the time you guys get back it'll be time to get ready for the show and everyone will be too focused on that to care where you two were."

"Okay. I guess we can try it."

"So is it like a date?"

"No. I don't know. No, we just want to be alone so we can talk."

"That sounds like a date." Kaycee liked teasing Abigail in return for all of that Jesse talk.

"Where should we go?" Abigail ignored the teasing. "If we go to the commissary we'll probably run into people and I don't really want to go off the lot because of the whole don't have a car and can't drive thing."

"You could try the café." There was a café type eatery on the studio lot which was an alternative to the commissary for eating. "Or order food from somewhere. You find a quite spot of the lot and have a picnic."

"That's a great idea! I think I have the perfect spot. Do you know that area in the back lot where they have the gazebo right now? I don't think anyone should be there."

"Yeah, not at that time, how romantic."

"What food do you think he likes?"

"Probably anything, just as long as it's not super messy. I hate sandwiches for dinner. Maybe tacos or pizza would be good?"

"Pizza is a great idea! I'll order it before so we can just pick it up from the café and go. What should I wear?"

"You sure are putting in a lot of thought for something that isn't a date."

"He's nice, and cute, and I've never been alone with a guy like this before."

"You are too sweet Abby. Don't go too all out. I think jeans and a cute top would work just fine."

"But which one?"

"Nothing baggy, how about that simple purple top you got the other week from Old Navy? Purple looks great on you! And you can wear a sweater if it gets cold. That black one I let you borrow and never got back." Abigail and Kaycee stayed up half the night discussing Frankie and going over plans for sneaking away.

* * *

Friday was tape day which meant that Abigail, Kaycee, and the boys from Dream Street were able to come to the set a little bit later. Once they got to set they worked on a little bit of school work, a couple hours or rehearsals, and some more school work before final rehearsals. Finally it was dinner time and it was time for Frankie and Abigail to sneak away. Kaycee told Frankie where he should meet Abigail in 5 minutes which would give her enough time to race over to the café and pick up her order.

"Going to the commissary?" Jesse asked Kaycee.

"No, I'm not going. Tape nights I get so nervous being in front of an audience I can't eat big meals or really be around people right before. I'll see you later though," Kaycee tried to explain. Everyone went their separate ways for dinner. Frankie went to meet Abigail where Kaycee had told him and she was already there waiting for him.

"Come on," Abigail said sitting in a golf cart. She didn't have her license but was allowed to drive the golf carts around the lot. Frankie hopped in and they drove off to the back lot of the studio. Once they got to the location Abigail had taken them too they sat inside the gazebo and started eating and talking.

"This may sound really weird but you look like that kid from _Jungle to Jungle_," Abigail said after they had been talking for a while.

"That was me. You've seen it?" Frankie asked.

"It was only my favorite movie when I was 10!"

"You've got to be kidding. It wasn't anyone's favorite movie ever."

"It was mine! I swear! I was really sick one day and Kaycee brought it over to make me feel better and that's when it became my favorite movie. I watched it like every day. I can't believe it took me so long to recognize you from it."

"You two really are close aren't you?"

"Yeah, I don't even know how explain it. We've really known each other all of our lives and have been really close. I feel like its lame to say it but we really have been though a lot together. And I'm an only child so having Kaycee there really doesn't make me feel like it. Hallie too, I think I'd be so bored without them." Abigail tried to explain to Frankie but she never felt like she could explain how important their relationship really was.

"I think I understand. I'm an only child too so it's cool hanging out with the guys and going on tour with them. A lot of my friends don't really understand the whole entertainment business thing so it's nice to have that."

"How is that going, the group? You guys seem pretty successful."

"It's going… To be honest I'm not sure how much longer. I don't know if I should be saying that but that's how it feels." Frankie wasn't sure he should have been so honest but he didn't think Abigail would be talking to Brian or Louie about it.

"Oh yeah, why is that? Sorry I don't mean to pry. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's fine. We just really aren't going anywhere anymore. We've been doing pretty much the exact same show since we started; same songs, same dance movies. It's getting kind of old. We use to try talking to Brian and Louie about doing something new. They got us on this show, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much."

"That's understandable. What's the point of doing something if you aren't going to evolve?"

"Exactly! We can't be a boy band forever, plus there are other things to start thinking about like college and just what each of us wants to do in the future."

"You plan on going to college?"

"Yeah, I already applied to schools. All of them are in New York. I don't know why I didn't consider applying anywhere else." Frankie wished he thought about applying to schools in California now, but he never really considered moving that far away from his parents. He wondered if it was too late to look into applying for other schools.

"That's awesome! I don't think many people in the entertainment business take education very seriously." Abigail realized she sounded like a nerd.

"So you want to go to college?"

"Yes! I don't know what I want to study yet, there are too many choices. Sorry I'm kind of a nerd. I just like learning."

"Don't apologize for that. Education should be taken more seriously. Do you want to continue acting? You're really good at it." Abigail blushed.

"No, I don't think so. I'm not really into the whole acting thing. I mean I don't hate it; it's just not my thing. I think I'll focus on something else once the show ends." They talked a little bit more and before they knew it, it was time to get back to the set.

"Thank you for getting the food," Frankie said. "And for planning this so we could hang out."

"No problem," Abigail blushed.

"All I can keep thinking is that it's too bad New York is so far from California."

"Yeah," Abigail said sadly. She thought maybe Frankie wouldn't be interested anymore. She always knew he'd be going back to New York but it was easy to push out of her mind when she was with him.

"We should definitely keep in touch."

"Of course," Abigail agreed. After a moment of silence she added "I guess we should be getting back." Abigail started to get up but Frankie pulled her back down, he looked into her eyes and then kissed her, it was a short sweet kiss, her first real kiss. After it was over Abigail tried to hide the huge smile on her face but once she saw the smile on Frankie's face she let it show. Then they got back into the golf cart and drove back to the _Don't Shoot Me_ stage.

* * *

As soon they got back to the set Abigail raced to Kaycee's dressing room.

"He kissed me!" Abigail squealed.

"Tell me everything!" Kaycee squealed back. Abigail quickly told Kaycee all about the kiss and the evening. "And he was in _Jungle to Jungle_, do you remember that movie you brought over when I was sick."

"Of course I remember that movie, you watched it constantly. I think I can still quote the entire movie. He was the kid you had a crush on?"

"Yes!"

"That is so cute!" Both girls squealed again. "Before I forgot to tell you your mom was looking for you. I told her we were getting food and were going to eat in my dressing room, so in case she asks that's what happened."

"Thanks Kayc." There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Kaycee said. The door opened and Leslie came in the door.

"Hey girls, they want you to start getting ready for the show tonight," Leslie informed them.

"Okay," both girls said getting up to change into their first wardrobe outfits and then headed to hair and make-up.

* * *

When Frankie got back to the set he was surprised nobody had wondered where he disappeared to during their dinner break, and he couldn't stop smiling. He kissed a pretty and smart girl who he got along with really well. But then he frowned thinking about how he was leaving in a couple days and didn't know when he'd see her again, it probably wouldn't be for a long time. They got along really well, and she made him laugh and really understood him, something he found hard to find and then he smiled again thinking that maybe they could still make something work out.

"Frankie," Hilary said interrupting his thoughts when she saw him in the hallway. "It's time to get ready for the show. Your wardrobe is in your dressing room, once your dressed I can show you the way to make up."

* * *

The tape night started with the main cast being introduced to the audience, right after they went right into the episode starting from the first scene where the character Hannah, played by Kaycee, was talking to her mom and dad about her birthday plans, she wants a quite dinner at home while her dad, Jack Gallo, played by George Segal, thinks it would be a good idea to throw her a party to make up for all the ones he has missed over the years. Hannah says no but Jack decides to throw one anyway, he hires the group Dream Street to perform at the party and asks them for advice on how to make it a good party. Each scene took two or three takes before moving on to the next. When it came to the scenes they had filmed yesterday they played them on TV screens for the audience to see and follow along with the story. It was finally time for the last scene where Chris and Kaycee were supposed to kiss, she had almost forgotten about that scene.

"Ready?" Brandon asked Kaycee.

"I guess so, actually I need a minute" Kaycee said, she ran to the crafts service table and quickly drank a strong cup of coffee and stuffed everything else into her mouth that she thought might give her bad breath, then she ran back on set and told Brandon she was ready as she went to her mark. She wasn't ready but she never was for these types of scenes at least the strong breath would shock Chris and make things a little more entertaining.

"You can go change if you want," Hilary told Jesse, Frankie, Matt and Greg who were standing off to the side waiting for the filming to finish. "Just leave the clothes in the dressing room and we'll take care of them. Or you can stay here and watch the end of the taping."

"Okay," Frankie and Matt went to their dressing rooms to go change they didn't really care about watching Kaycee kiss Chris.

"Are you coming Jess?" Greg asked.

"Hmm?" Jesse hadn't been paying attention. He was waiting to see the scene take place; even though he didn't want to see Kaycee and Chris kiss he couldn't look away. The scene took two takes and then filming was over for this episode and for the night. The cast was introduced to the audience again and then Dream Street was introduced as well. After a moment the cast disbursed and the taping was finished for the night.

"Great job tonight," George told Kaycee giving her a hug, over the years they had developed a close relationship resembling one of a father and daughter.

"Thank you. You were too funny in that one scene. I almost couldn't hold it together," Kaycee complimented him back.

"Are you feeling okay? You seem tired lately and look like you might be losing some weight."

"I'm fine. Just a little stressed out with everything going on but nothing to worry about. I'll be okay."

"Alright, well I'm here for you if you ever need anything."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"Kaycee! Kaycee!" Kaycee heard some audience members trying to get her attention.

"See you next week Georgie," Kaycee said.

"See you next week Ace," George said referring to Kaycee by his nickname for her. Kaycee went over to the audience seats and started signing some autographs for some people, Abigail was already there answering some questions, after a minute or two Kaycee called the boys over since some people had wanted to meet them too. Afterwards everyone said their good byes and the boys were thanked for their work over the past week, Abigail and Kaycee promised to see them at their show the next day.

* * *

Saturday morning Kaycee woke up early, even on her day off from the set she still usually needed to wake up early. She went through her morning routine of getting cleaned up and dressed before heading downstairs to meet her mom. After convincing her mom that she didn't want her gourmet breakfast because she really wasn't a breakfast person, Charlotte drove Kaycee to her gymnastics class. When class was over Charlotte and Hallie came to pick Kaycee up and drove to Chelsea's animal shelter so they could all help out for a couple hours.

Charlotte usually helped out with paperwork while Kaycee and Hallie helped with the animals; they usually cleaned cages and gave the animals some attention so they wouldn't become aggressive with people from lack of interaction. As they did this Kaycee usually got noticed from her work on _Just Shoot Me_ or from one of the many films she's worked on, she would answer questions and try to help people find their dream pet. After helping out for a couple hours it was time for lunch so Charlotte, Hallie and Kaycee left to go back home.

Once they were back at home Kaycee and Hallie made lunch for their parents and they all sat around the table to eat together. Afterwards Kaycee decided to lay out by the pool in her backyard and look over some scripts her agent had been asking her to look over.

"Kayc, Abby's on the phone," Hallie said coming outside to bring Kaycee the phone after Kaycee had been outside for a while.

"Thanks Hall," Kaycee said taking the phone from her sister and began talking in it. "Hello."

"Hi Kaycee, what are you up to?" Abigail asked.

"Just reading some scripts." Kaycee liked that she could tell Abigail what she was doing without being judged, if it was any of her other friends she would have felt like she would have had to lie or they would think she was bragging.

"Anything good?"

"Not really. They're all pretty much the same. There's a Daria movie, you know the MTV cartoon from a while back, they want to make it live. The scripts not great but it might be fun, or bad, I can't decide."

"Oh I bet that'll be a big hit." Abigail was always trying to be positive.

"Maybe, I don't really care about the big hits though. I just want to do something that challenges me. Or I guess something that will be fun. What are you up to?"

"Well, it's funny that you ask. I just found out that Dream Street is doing a signing at a music store."

"How did you find that out?"

"I may have been searching for information online. That's creepy isn't it?"

"That's cute."

"Do you want to go? It's going on right now. As we speak. I thought it might be fun to show up and surprise them."

"Sure. Let me make sure Hallie isn't doing anything so she can drive us." Anything sounded like more fun than reading through these scripts, plus Abigail was right, it might be kind of fun to surprise them.

"Okay, call me and let me know. I'm going to get ready."

"Sounds good, I'll call you right back." Kaycee hung up the phone; she grabbed all of the scripts and headed inside to see what her sister was up to.

* * *

"Wow, there are a lot of people here," Hallie said. They had just parked at the mall where the signing was being held and it was easy to find where the store was, there was a long line of people outside waiting to get in and meet the boys.

"I don't have anything for them to sign," Kaycee said, the thought just occurred to her.

"You don't need anything," Hallie told her. "They're just going to be surprised you two are here."

"No, Kaycee's right. It would be better if we had their CD or something," Abigail said.

"Fine, I'll go buy some CDs. You guys get and line and I'll be right back," Hallie said. She went into the store to try and find a couple copies of the Dream Street CD while Abigail and Kaycee headed to wait in the long line. Kaycee could see a lot of people staring at her.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Kaycee said. "I don't want to take any attention away from them."

"It'll be fine," Abigail reassured her, she hadn't even thought that might be an issue before now. A couple people came up to them to say they looked like the girls from the _Don't Shoot Me_ show and asked to take some pictures. After a little while Hallie came back with three copies of the Dream Street CD. They waited a while longer and soon it was their turn to go inside. Abigail suddenly felt nervous; maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"You go first," Abigail told Kaycee.

* * *

The boys of Dream Street were able to sleep in a little bit before doing some interviews and then heading over to the mall where they would be having their signing. They had been signing autographs for a couple hours already and the boys were starting to get tired. Matt knew it was exciting for all of the fans to meet them but he felt bored and like he had met the same girl a hundred times, they were usually the same. Most of the girls he met were around his age but dressed much older, they clearly wanted attention and thought showing off their skin was a way for them to be noticed. Matt wondered what they thought would happen, was he supposed to magically be attracted to one of them and fall in love on the spot, he wasn't sure what they were thinking but he continued to smile and great every person the same way.

"Hi, I'm Jenna," a pretty young blonde girl wearing a Dream Street t-shirt said confidently. Most of the girls he met at signings were either shy or hysterically excited. "Would you mind signing my CD cover for me?"

"Of course," Matt said as he looked into her dark blue eyes. "I'm Matt. It's nice to meet you. Did you have to wait long?" He figured he would make a little extra effort to be nice since she seemed sweet.

"For about 2 hours but it wasn't too bad."

"Wow. I'm glad you could make it out today. Would you like a picture?" Matt couldn't believe people would wait so long just to meet him for a couple seconds.

"Sure! That would be great." Jenna turned on her camera and got ready to take a picture of Matt.

"No, let's take one together." Matt said. "Can you take our picture?" Matt asked a security guard who was trying to move the line along. The security guard took Jenna's camera from her and Matt leaned over the table to pose for the picture.

"Thank you," Jenna said to the security guard when he handed her camera back to her. "And thank you Matt."

"Thank you for coming Jenna." It was refreshing to meet a fan that was so poised, maybe all of his fans weren't the exact same he thought which put him in a better mood for the rest of the signing. He made sure he made a little extra effort with each fan that came by; they probably waited about 2 hours or longer to meet him just like Jenna. The signing went on for a little while longer and all the boys were starting to get tired.

"Almost done guys," Brian said to the boys so they knew there was an end in sight. But that didn't help Jesse; he was tired of signing autographs and meeting people.

"Can you sign this for me," a voice said.

Jesse took the CD without even looking up.

"Thank you," the same voice said, but it sounded familiar. Jesse looked up and saw it was Kaycee standing in front of him and smiling.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Jesse brightened up.

"Abby heard you guys were doing a signing and we realized we never got our CDs signed." Jesse suddenly felt bad, he didn't like that Kaycee had just seem him brush her off, he didn't mean to brush her off, and then he felt a little bad about the fans he hadn't paid much attention to, it wasn't really their fault he was so tired.

"Thanks for coming," Jesse said knowing it sounded lame but he wasn't sure what else to say.

"Thank you for signing my CD," Kaycee said, and then she moved onto Chris who was next in line. Chris stood up to give her a hug.

"I can't believe you're here," Chris said to Kaycee. Jesse greeted Hallie and Abigail and signed their CDs for them. Behind then there were only a couple other fans left.

"How's the signing going?" Abigail asked Frankie when she got to him, he was second to last in line; Kaycee and Hallie were talking to Greg who was last.

"Good, long but good, I'm glad you came. It's a nice surprise," Frankie said with a big smile on his face, he knew she must have had made some effort in looking up information about him if she heard they were doing a signing, he knew he didn't mention it to her and he didn't think any of the other guys did either.

"You all look pretty tired. Do you get to have a break before the show tonight?'

"I think so. We're going to over the venue to do an interview and have sound check, and then we'll get a break before we do the show. You're still coming tonight, right?"

"Yes, of course! I'm excited to see the performance."

"You should come backstage afterwards and hang out for a little bit."

"That sounds fun. I'll see you later." Abigail didn't want to hold up the line, she knew the people behind here were excited to meet the boys and hadn't gotten to spend all week with them.

"Bye." After the signing the boys headed for the venue to do an interview and then did their sound check for the show. Once they were finished they were able to take a break for dinner and relax a little bit before their show started.

* * *

After the signing Abigail, Hallie, and Kaycee did a little shopping, since they were already at the mall, went out for dinner and then headed over to the venue for the show. Their seats were in the first row on the left side of the stage. Dream Street performed 5 songs for their set; after they were done Abigail, Hallie, and Kaycee left their seats to go say hello to the boys backstage, they didn't want to see Aaron Carter perform.

"Can you help us find our seats?" Kaycee overheard a young woman with two girls asking an usher.

"Sure, they're right at the top so you'll need to go upstairs," The usher told her.

"Thank you," the young woman said and walked away.

"Hi," Kaycee said to the woman. "We're actually leaving if you want to take our seats, first row." She figured if they weren't going to stay for the rest of the show somebody else should use them.

"Are you kidding?"

"No, we just came to see one of the opening acts. Here, take the ticket, they shouldn't go to waste."

"Thank you. My daughters are going to be so happy."

"It's no problem. Enjoy the show." Abigail, Hallie, and Kaycee found their way backstage and to the Dream Street dressing room.

"Great show!" Abigail said.

"Yeah, you guys sound great live," Kaycee added. They boys of Dream Street thanked them for coming and they all hung out back stage for a while talking and watching Aaron's performance which was being shown on a TV in the dressing room. It was getting late and they all knew they would have to start saying their goodbyes soon. Frankie wanted to get a moment along with Abigail so he could kiss her again but he didn't think that would happen. He promised her they would stay in contact giving her a big hug and a quick kiss on the cheek hoping nobody would notice. Everybody else gave hugs and exchanged their email addresses and phone numbers before saying their last goodbyes.

* * *

"Well, that's that," Abigail said on the ride home in Hallie's car.

"What are you talking about?" Kaycee asked.

"I'm never going to see Frankie again," Abigail said sadly.

"Oh my goodness, you don't know that," Kaycee said.

"Every time I saw him he was staring at you with a huge grin on his face," Hallie said.

"What did he say tonight when he was saying goodbye?" Kaycee asked.

"He said he wanted to keep in touch but I don't think that's going to happen. He lives all the way on the other side of the country and I'm sure there are a lot of pretty girls there," Abigail said.

"But those girls aren't you," Kaycee reminded her.

"We'll see what happens," Abigail said not sounding too hopeful. Abigail's phone buzzed but she ignored it, it was probably her mom and she had already let her know she was on her way home. Later, when Abigail got home she would see it was a text from Frankie that said "I miss you already."


End file.
